Made this and really enjoyed it! I just used some homemade broth I had on hand rather than doing the first step, but the reviews said that it added a lot of flavor if you're using canned broth. Of course, if you are going for a vegetarian soup, use vegetarian broth instead. Suggestions are in red.

Quote:

Hearty Bean and Barley SoupFrom Cooking Light

This satisfying Italian-style soup features a delicious and iron-packed combination of red kidney beans and spinach. It's also high in fiber and calcium. To ensure rich flavor, add garlic and herbs to canned broth for a homemade taste. Mashing a portion of the beans gives the soup extra body. ( With barley and carrots, this is a Phase 2 soup. I think you might want to use regular barley and adjust the cooking time as quick-cooking barley might be too processed. )

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a Dutch oven; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 15 minutes. Drain through a sieve into a large bowl; discard solids.
Measure 1 cup beans, and mash with a fork in a small bowl. Reserve the remaining whole beans.

I made this soup for our supper tonight. It was truly a meal in a bowl. Of course, I can't make anything without tweaking the recipe a bit, depending on what I have on hand.
First change was I soaked and cooked dried kidney beans. I also used more beans than called for because I thought the soup was a bit liquidy.
Then, because I've never even seen instant barley in our local shops, I used regular barley (1 cupful). That plus the extra beans made it more like a stew than a soup but it was really delicious. I guess it helped that I used an old Italian trick of simmering the rind from a Parmesan cheese wedge in with the soup.
Oh yeah, I never bothered to strain the broth because I had put the barley in right at the beginning so no point straining it. It seems to be an unnecessary step anyway. I used dried rosemary.
Thanks for the recipe. I could live on stuff like this.

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